The Lost School
by LuckySox
Summary: Max's days are numbered. To prevent the inevitable, Fang must lead the Flock into the seemingly abandoned School 4. But when the Flock get into School 4, it is anything but abandoned... Faxness included COMPLETE!
1. Falling

_A/N. My first Fan fic. this chapter is quick, but I assure you, the next ones are getting longer. Review if you like. This is my own MR: 5, so there might be some spoilers. I have nothing against Kansas, I just think that from a bird's eye view, it might look boring. I hope no one is offended._

**Disclaimer: I am not James Patterson, and i do not own Max, nor the Flock, nor anythign else from the books.**

Chapter 1

Falling

We were doing what mutant bird children usually do. Flying. Flying to wherever the Voice in my head decided to send us, because the world needs saving at some point on Earth, and no one does the job like some mutant bird kids.

Here's a quick explanation: Once upon a time, there was an evil, evil scientific facility called The School, where they did unspeakable things to children. Those children include my Flock, avian-human hybrids that were raised in dog crates. A guy pitied us and smuggled us out. Then he disappeared. Then he came back and was evil. Then he was good and speaking into my head all the time. Then he wasn't in my head all the time, but someone else was. Then he was my dad. Then the School and Itex and the Erasers, and the Flyboys, and all of the other things that were so intent on killing us sort of….disappeared.

To heck with quick explanation. I can't recite the books for you.

Well we were flying. The Voice told me that there was a "safe" place for us in North Carolina, and even though I don't trust the word "safe", we are checking it out anyway.

We were in the classic V formation, with me at the head, as the leader. To my right was Fang, dark, tall, quiet, my best friend (well…that can be debated), the second in command of the flock. On my left was Iggy, our blind pyromaniac and bomb expert. Behind Iggy was Nudge, the closest the Flock has to a valley girl. On her opposite was Gasman, the other expert in explosives, most of them naturally caused through…wait for it…farts. Then there's Gazzy's little sister Angel, my baby. She's the youngest, with her cute bouncy blonde curls, and her uncanny ability to read minds…

Yea, we're a pretty messed up group, and I haven't even begun to tell you about Total, our talking dog who is growing wings…

Flying was getting boring. That's what happens when you fly through Kansas. Unless there's a twister, nothing is all that interesting to look at.

**Knock on wood. With your luck, there will be a twister.**, my guiding, but ever so annoying Voice informed me._Sure Jeb, because I'm going to fly down just to knock on wood. That's practical. _I replied. **I am not Jeb. Not this time.** Great. A stranger was in my head. That's just peachy.

My wing was…itchy or something. When your wings itch during flight, you can't exactly scratch it. The wind seemed to blow harder against me, and I got a bit lopsided. I began exerting myself to keep ahead. My itch must have mutated or something. It _spread. _

**Land Max. You need to land now. **My Voice urged me. Land? I wasn't tired. We'd never get to the "safe" house if we kept having breaks. And I'd never—

I was trembling. My wings were numb now…if I weren't gliding, that might be a problem.

"Max," Fang called over, "You ok? You seem…," a smirk appeared on his dark face, "_wobbly_." I laughed, keeping my composure.

"Kansas has weird winds, and I can assure you, I never, ever wob--,"

I was cut off by the wracking pain that reverberated through my head and spine. I began having spasms in my wings. I was considerably weaker, and lost altitude.

"Max? What's wrong Max?" Fang yelled.

"Max is hurt! Help her", Angel cried. I gasped in pain. The wind died around me, and I became dead weight under my wobbly wings. Gravity took over, and I was no longer flying, but falling. Everything then went black, and the last thing I heard was Fang cry "NO!"


	2. Date of Fate

Chapter 2

_A/N: The plot shall thicken, and so shall the Faxness. Hey, I seriously don't see fang and max getting all steamy or anything in the first few chapters. I need to warm up anyway._

**Disclaimer: I am not James Patterson. I'll let that sink in. **

Chapter 2

Date of Fate

I was awake, but not entirely. I didn't have the strength to open my eyes, but I could hear. I just couldn't make sense of what had happened. How long since I blacked out? Why did I black out? Why wasn't Angel or the Voice answering my questions? They usually replied to what I was thinking, always listening in to my thoughts.

**Maybe we aren't saying anything because we are figuring out the answer for ourselves. **The Voice quipped in my head. So it was still there. I'm never alone, ever. Not even in my own mind.

I was warm, and something was on my hand. Laced in with my hand. Was someone holding my hand? My eyes were all crusty, so opening them was a lot more challenging than it should've been. I mean, opening your eyes? Challenging? This totally redefined weak.

With a groan, I opened my eyes. Everything was a blur, but I could still hear. The Flock had noticed me wake. I heard them, but I was too incoherent to know who was saying what.

"Max, you're finally awake!"

"Why did you fall Max?"

"Are you sick?"

"I'm not sure she's really awake yet. She's just soo…unresponsive"

"Fang, she's alive, you can let go now."

"Awww, he's still holding her hand—"

"Max doesn't understand us. She hears us, but doesn't understand."

"Reminds me of a certain incident with Valium…" said Fang. Only Fang would bring that up, months and months after the fact. Would I ever live that down?

My vision cleared, and from what I gathered from the conversation, I expected Fang to be the first thing I saw. Instead I was looking up at the jaws of an Eraser.

I immediately reacted, smacking the Eraser away. It wasn't expecting my response, but I wasn't expecting a huge canine-human mutant hybrid to be _holding my hand._ I was surrounded by four other Erasers, and there was no sign of The Flock. It was confusing. Hadn't I heard them a moment ago? In fact I still heard them.

"Max! What are you doing?"

"That was unnecessary Max. If you had a problem with me holding your hand, you could've just said so..."

"Max, we're not Erasers! You're hallucinating!"

I was panicking. Five Erasers surrounded me, talking to me with the voices of The Flock. With a burst of adrenaline, I broke into a run. I tried to lift off and fly, but my wings were too weak. I merely ended up on the ground, crawling away into a clearing. This made no sense. The Erasers were all gone. Where was the Flock?

Suddenly I was surrounded again, but by the Flock this time. I sighed with relief as Fang and Iggy helped me up. My eyes darted around the clearing, looking for the Erasers. Where had they gone? Wasn't I being chased?

"No max, you weren't being chased at all," said Angel, "you were hallucinating, you thought _we _were the Erasers." I took this all in slowly. I stood up on my own, and held my head in frustration.

"Great, first I'm too weak to fly, and then I attack my own Flock! Why am I going insane?" I said.

I felt like tearing out my hair, and yelling. In fact, I'd begun to do so, well only the yelling part. Deep inside my female heart, tearing out my own hair was just like suicide. I'm a total tomboy, but there is a line even I wouldn't cross.

"Everyone go back to camp, I'll clear things up with Max." Fang said quietly.

The others filed out, and I could hear Nudge whispering as they left_. Ok,_ I thought to myself, _this is not a big deal. I'm might be mental but at least…_

"Why have you gotten so mental all of the sudden? You were fine a few days ago, but then you just freaked and passed out…" Fang asked.

Darn, he did the mind reading without reading my mind thing again. Truth is I had no idea what was happening. _Perhaps a certain Voice would like to clear things up?_, I thought.

**Max, this is important. Mess with your hair. Move it to the side of your neck with frustration or something. Make sure Fang sees. I just want to confirm something.** The Voice told me.

What? What did it want me to do, be a shampoo model? I obeyed anyway, only because I was so confused and disoriented, I couldn't help it. I was facing away from Fang, and all my hair was lopped to the left. My face was in my hands.

"This is so…messed up.", I said. "Did you say a few days ago? How long could I have been out? What the heck could be wrong—"

"Hold on, stay still for a second," Fang said. He came up behind me, and moved some more hair off my neck. I heard a quick intake of breath.

**It's just as I feared. **The Voice said.

"Max…no…this can't…no, not you…" Fang said unintelligibly.

I turned to face him, and studied his face. The only emotion on his face was in his eyes. I was never that good at reading emotions, especially on Fang, but I could tell it was bad.

"What is it? What's wrong? Tell me Fang, just tell me."

"Remember Ari?"

"Of course I remember Ari. Split up our Flock. Helped me out in Europe. Expired in Germany. Died a hero."

While I was talking, Fang tensed. It was something I said. I analyzed each word, and their possible connections to me, necks, and Ari. Then I realized what it was. Ari expired. His expiration date has appeared on his neck before he met up with us…

My hand instinctively went to my neck. _No, no, no, NO! _I thought frantically. _This can't be happening! The Flock needs me! I need them! No way am I going to expire, especially after all that I've done. This can't be true. Tell me it isn't._

**I'm so sorry Max. You are expiring, **The Voice said.** But yours is different than Ari's. You will black out, hallucinate, have fevers, and generally be weak for the remainder of your life. I'm sorry, if only I knew you had this type of expiration, I would've helped…warned…I would've… **

I suddenly felt weak again. I was dying. But I wasn't crying. I grasped Fang's arm for support. Fang was having trouble keeping his composure.

"How long?" I asked. Fang didn't answer.

"HOW LONG?" I repeated. Fang looked away. I heard him clear his throat, and then he hoarsely said:

"A little more than a week."


	3. Transfer

Chapter 3

_A/N: It is I, the horrible person who has decided to kill off maximum ride. Well…don't hate me yet, its chapter 3 for god's sake. And thanks for the reviews guys. Notice the Expiration Countdown. I also fear that my chapters are getting longer…_

**Disclaimer: No way am I James Patterson. That implies that I don't own Maximum Ride.**

Chapter 3

Transfer

Expiration Count Down: 8 days, 14 hours, 46 minutes.

"You're lying! It isn't true! Stop it Fang, STOP IT!"

Angel had broken down, and I hadn't even said anything. She read Fang's mind, then burst into tears. The others caught on quickly, but they all put on a brave face. That's my flock, never crying, never weak. With the exception of Angel, who was sobbing all over me. This was so unlike her. My little baby never ever cries.

"I don't want you to die. You won't…you won't…" sobbed Angel, her words slurring together.

I sat down, Angel in my lap, and thought in silence. I was dying in a week, gradually growing weaker. I knew the question that was on everyone's mind: What will we do now? We had to prepare for my death that's what.

First order of business: Fang. He would take over for me, and I'm sure he has experience leading, when the flock split up, but I should give him some pointers. Oh god Fang…there was so much I wanted to say…but I couldn't just go ahead and ruin everything at the end. No way does he…

I unsteadily got up, and motioned Fang over.

"Ok guys, me and Fang need to talk. He needs to be ready…it's a special talk, so we'll just move over there…"

"Stay Max.", Gaz begged.

I didn't want to deny the little guy, but I had to also talk to Fang about…other things. Luckily, Fang stepped in.

"I think this is a leader thing…something you'll only need to hear if you become a leader." Fang said, unsure. Gasman looked around confused.

"You mean like the Birds and the bees?" he asked.

Without thinking, I answered, "Yes, just like the birds and the—NO! Not like the birds and the bees! I just need to teach him the ropes of taking care of you all. Fang, let's go before I need to tell Angel what the birds—"

"I already know what they are. I've read enough minds to figure it out." Angel said helpfully.

Fang and I got out of there before more awkward topics were brought up. It was evident that Ig gave Gasser "the talk" already, without my permission. _Won't be my problem soon, _I thought optimistically. To come to think of it, that is actually quite depressing...

I leaned against a tree and sat down, and Fang across from me. I bit my lip, wondering where to start. I started with the three basic rules: 1) The Flock comes first always, 2) there is no such thing as safe, and 3) never show weakness on the outside. The Flock is only as strong as you are.

To be honest, that was pretty much all there was to it. Perhaps that was an understatement, but those three things were what I lived by. Ok, leadership orientation out of the way, I had to move on to what I really wanted to talk about.

"Fang, I'm dying in a little more than a week." I started.

Great way to start, stating the obvious. I didn't really know where to go next. I just sat there, avoiding eye contact. I couldn't get lost in his dark eyes, not now. Then I realized that I only had a week and a little more, I should stare into them as much as possible. Or do something bold, like kiss him without running away, or hold his hand…speaking of holding hands…

"Were you the person I smacked when I woke up? Everyone was Eraserfied, so it was pretty hard to tell." I asked, purposefully not mentioning that the Eraser I hit was holding my hand.

I waited for the one syllable response. I'm realistic, not a romantic who wants her guy to confess, to declare that it was indeed him. That would be so un-Fang like.

"Yep"

And there it was. Like me, he was being evasive about holding the hand thing. I didn't blame him. Maybe I wasn't going to get anywhere right now. I got up, only to immediately slump back down. My legs were just not functioning. Stupid School, giving me the expiration date that turns me into a weakling…

**Max, the School might save you yet,** said The Voice, **Just do as I say, and touch Fang's forehead…then you don't need to worry anymore…**

_I always have something to worry about. Right now, I'm worrying about what Fang is going to say when I randomly touch his forehead…_

"Fang, the Voice told me to touch your forehead. Hold still…" I said, and before he had the chance to look confused, I reached for him.

Once my skin made contact, an electric jolt surged through us both. I was blasted back, crashing into a tree, and everything went black…

* * *

Fang POV:

**Hello Fang, **something said inside Fang's head. **I am The Voice. Max just transferred my transmission into your brain…don't ask me to explain, you're not allowed to know.**

Fang held his own head, disoriented. He had…The Voice…Max was unconscious. He had to make sure she was fine.

**She's fine for someone with only a week to live, **said The Voice. Fang now understood why Max sometimes sat there silently with an annoyed expression on her face. She was talking to this thing.

**Talking to me might be annoying, but its Max's only hope, **said the Voice wryly.

Fang already disliked this voice. Popping in to comment on whatever he was thinking, responding all snarky like. Fang felt violated. He didn't invite this thing in. He was a private person, solitary, quiet. Fang lived inside his own thoughts, alone…but now he had a roommate. Angel even avoided reading Fang's mind, respecting his privacy.

**Enough with the small talk, **The Voice said. **I have news—good and bad. The bad news is that Max is in a coma, induced by my…transfer. **

Fang got angry fast. It was enough that she was dying, but she at least was conscious. And this Voice, rather than trying to save her, makes things worse, right when Fang might've gotten Max to open up…

**I **_**am**_** trying to save Max, and you were not about to get her to open up, **The Voice said. **The good news I had was that Max had one hope left. Don't thank me yet, I have more bad news, worse news. Saving Max involves going back to ****School….**

_A/N: Point of view change...As much as I love Max, she is in a coma. She can't tell the story if she's not awake. The POV will be 3rd person, but limited only to Fang._


	4. Stand in

Ch

_A/N: Im trying to update two chapters at a time. Emphasis on trying. If you think my punctuation is…odd in some places, I'm working on it. i noticed that while i mentioned total before, he hadn't said anything. I'm going to incorporate him into the sotry more._

**Disclaimer: Am I James Patterson you ask? Moi non! (me, No! in French) **

Chapter 4

Stand-in

Expiration Countdown: 8 days, 14 hours, 2 minutes

Fang was carrying Max back to camp. What would he ever tell the others? The Voice decided to do a little switcheroo, and now Max is unconscious, in a coma? Then he'd have to tell them the Voice's "good news".

GOOD NEWS? Sure, a way to save Max normally would be filed under "good news". But of course, Max has never been normal.

Fang entered camp, and was immediately noticed by The Flock. Probably because of unconscious Max, who was in his arms. Max would never let someone carry her, in normal instances. Once again, with the normal…

Angel was already probing his thoughts. Nudge eyed Fang and Max curiously and Total whispered what was happening to Iggy. Iggy's eyebrows rose.

"What did you two_ do?" _Iggy guffawed, "you were gone for, what, half an hour, and she's _unconscious?"_

"It wasn't Fang's fault, it was The Voice's," Angel said, "and now Fang has The Voice. He doesn't like The Voice at all…"

"Iggy, this is important, and I need everyone to pay attention." Fang said, hoping that he sounded leader-like. "I'm going to have to be Max's, er, stand-in for now. As leader. She's…"

Fang gestured towards Max's limp body.

"…unable to, well, lead. And yea, I do have some voice telling me what to do in my head, but The Voice thinks we can save Max…"

The entire Flock exchanged glances as Fang put down Max, tenderly leaning her against a tree. The Flock waited for Fang to continue, knowing too well that these things always came with a catch.

"Well, it doesn't sound too appealing, but if there really is no other way, we have to consider it." Fang began. "It's pretty dangerous, and The Voice's information is really sketchy."

"If it saves Max, we'll do it.", Nudge says firmly. The rest of The Flock nodded in agreement.

"Danger? I've seen plenty of danger, and I'm blind." Iggy said. "As for sketchy, since when did we know anything about anything?"

"Even if it involves going back into The School?" Fang asked. The Flock was still sure.

"Even that." The Gasman replied.

Fang now knew why Max was so proud of these kids. They were willing to go back to the place of their childhoods, as well as their nightmares. But they were going into the unknown, a place where no one has left or entered in five years…

"What's School 4?" Angel asked, sensing where his thoughts were heading.

Apparently, Angel felt like Fang's mind was no longer off-limits. Fang sighed and began to tell The Flock what the Voice relayed to him.

"There isn't just one school. There were five. School 1 was Itex headquarters. School 2 is where we grew up. Schools 3 and 5, shut down after Itex was taken out. School 4…School 4 is locked."

"What do you mean locked?" asked Total, who had been pretty quiet since Max's first black-out.

"The Voice said that all the Schools had an emergency lockdown system." Fang began to explain,

"If something went horribly wrong inside, then the entire facility would lock itself, nothing in or out unless the right person opened it up from the outside. This is exactly what happened in School 4. Something happened…and it was locked down. It also couldn't be opened, because the only person who could open it up was inside."

The Flock exchanged amused glances. It was pretty funny that the ever so evil organization would have such a huge flaw in their plan. They probably never considered that something could go wrong enough to initiate a lockdown.

"Pompous whitecoats." muttered Total.

Fang was losing their attention, and he had a lot more to explain. The clock was ticking for Max, and the flock of mutants with small attention spans had to focus.

"You don't know how to get in do you?" Angel asked, even though she already knew the answer. Fang rubbed his temples, and continued.

"That's where it gets sketchy. I can get us there…but not _in _there. The Voice thinks we can get in but…" Fang drifted off. This plan seemed more hopeless out loud than it did in his head.

"We still need to try." the Gasman put forward.

"Yea, anything for Max." Nudge added.

The Flock seemed to be on the same wavelength, agreeing in unison.

"Anything for Max.", Total repeated.

"We've got the explosives for it, we should be able to break into the building" Iggy said, "and if there are any computer's involved, we've got Nudge."

Maybe there was hope, and Fang was so pessimistic to see it. School 4 was coincidentally in Kansas. It would take them a day and a half tops to get there. Funny how that worked out…


	5. Two birds with one Stone

_A/N: this one is lengthy. Not as much dialogue in the beginning. Ok guys, reviews for any such reason are appreciated. I want to know whether anyone is reading this. _

**Disclaimer: I own this plot, but not the Flock, or Itex. **

Chapter 5

Two Birds with One Stone

Expiration Countdown: 6 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes

Fang didn't have these sorts of problems when it was him, Gasser, and Iggy by themselves. He didn't think controlling The Flock would be any more difficult. The only additions were Nudge, Angel, and Total. That couldn't make leading The Flock much harder, could it?

Wrong. Throwing Nudge, Angel, and Total into the mix made getting The Flock going much, much more difficult. Unnecessarily so.

Nudge and Total couldn't stop talking, and Nudge talked so fast she didn't even think about what she was saying. Of course, numerous conflicts were started because of this. Nudge said something that was a tiny bit offensive, and then Gasman or Ig would say something insulting back. Nudge never meant any of it, but only Angel knew this.

Angel knew everything it seemed sometimes, and she liked to lord her telepathy over the others. Fang never noticed this before now. This never happened with Max around. Max always kept a tight rein on everyone, and The Flock did all they could to keep her infamous temper at bay.

Aside from all this, Max was a burden herself. She had to get fed, and carried, and cleaned, and no one wanted to do it. A simple way to see how this all affected Fang is this: Bickering Flock+ unconscious Max+ looming deadline equaled Stressed out and angry Fang.

Fang had had enough of this. What Fang did remember was that a busy Flock was a happy Flock. He assigned them all jobs, most of them pertaining to the care of Max. The Flock and Max were taken care of. Two birds with one stone, no pun intended.

Angel and Gaz fed Max. Fang looked up on his laptop about how coma patients were fed. After shoplifting a blender and a portable battery with an outlet, the siblings were set. Nudge and Total took care of Max's hygiene. Iggy cooked. The Flock lost a day getting organized, and there was still one matter left: Max's transportation. She was practically cargo.

Fang was now flying, Max in his arms. This was a decision he was pretty pleased with. Of course, initially everyone thought Iggy should do it instead. He was bigger than Fang, therefore carrying Max would be easier.

Fang thought otherwise. Max was cargo, but she was _important_ cargo. Anyway, Iggy was blind. Something as important to The Flock…or to Fang…as Max shouldn't be put under the care of a blind person. But Fang never held Iggy's blindness against him before…

No, this was definitely better. Even though Fang was tired, he pressed on. One of the last things Max said to him before passing out was that he should never look weak. The Flock was only as strong as he was.

They weren't too far away from School 4. It took them longer then expected to reach it, but with a Type B personality like Fang, you couldn't worry too much. Fang was also enjoying the flight. If Max were conscious, she would have kicked, screamed, and fought to the death before allowing herself to be carried by anyone, and if she knew Fang was carrying her...

**You do know that when she wakes up and hears about this, she'll foam at the mouth **interjected the Voice, interrupting Fang's thoughts. _I'll cross that bridge when I get there. _Fang shot back. Fang wouldn't let The Voice ruin things. What are the chances of this happening again?

Fang motioned for The Flock to land. It was just a wide grassy plain, no facility to be found. _You could've mentioned that this was an invisible School._ Fang thought annoyed.

**Not invisible**, The Voice said, **underground. **Underground? Fang didn't like the idea of going underground.

"I don't want to go underground." Angel said, responding to Fang's thoughts. The rest of The Flock replied in alarm.

"We're going where?" asked Total.

"But the rats..."started Nudge fearfully.

"And the spiders!" added the Gasman

"What if it's dark?" asked Iggy. After that comment, everyone just looked at him.

"Iggy, you're blind. It could be dark right now and you wouldn't know." Fang said. Iggy just crossed his arms and muttered something about Angel telling him to say it, and shut up.

**There should be a boulder somewhere. If you weren't looking for anything special, you'd miss it, but once you know it's there…**, The Voice told Fang. Fang scanned his surroundings, and noticed a particularly suspicious looking boulder. It was just so out of place. Fang, still hauling Max, walked over to examine the boulder.

On his way over there, he stepped on something metal. He stomped on the ground, and heard more metal clanging. Ah, a trap door of sorts. Fang needed to clear away the grass, but his arms were full.

"I'll carry Max for a bit", said Iggy reaching for her. "You need to get that door open. And you could use a break." Iggy then leaned in toward Fang, so that no one else could hear them.

"It also wouldn't hurt to, you know, _share_." Iggy said with a grin. Fang stepped back, not amused at all. Iggy shrugged and began to clear away the grass himself.

It was indeed a door, but this door was supernatural or something. Fang had never seen metal like it. It was almost like it was welded into the ground. _We'll never get in…,_ thought Fang.

**This is one of about 50 entrances. I don't know where any others are, but they would be with a 3-4 mile radius of this one, **the Voice told Fang.** You'd better start looking, because the chances of you getting in through that entrance are slim to none.**

With that, The Flock began scourging the plain and surrounding forests for any more entrances.

* * *

Expiration Countdown: 6 days, 6 hours, 53 minutes

"I FOUND A BIG ONE!" Fang heard Nudge yell, some distance away. They had been searching for hours. Eventually, Fang had to lay Max down, and The Flock took turns watching her unconscious body.

Since they began, they found four more trap doors, all of them welded into the earth somehow. Fang rushed to where Nudge was, and arrived there after the rest of The Flock. Iggy had Max with him, slung over his shoulder. Fang scowled at Iggy, even though Iggy would never see it.

This door was huge. It was embedded into rock, concealed by trees. Fang smiled a little when he saw the computer screen and key pad. Bingo. It was Nudge's time to shine.

As if on cue, Nudge pressed her hand to the screen and concentrated. Soon she had the password. Unfortunately, that could only get them inside School 4. Fang took custody of Max, and sent Iggy and Gasman to bring over the ominous looking boulder from earlier.

Once the two had rolled the thing to the door, Fang relayed the plan. Nudge would open the door, and then The Flock would prop it open with the boulder. The boulder would only leave a small space, so Total would have to squeeze through and punch in the password himself. Happy with the arrangement, Nudge opened the door.

A gust of musty air whooshed over them. Angel coughed, and Gasser wrinkled his nose. The Flock just stared down into the abyss. Fang, gripping tightly to Max, was the first to step on through. The girls followed, and Iggy and Gasser rolled the boulder into the entrance. Then the door closed, and The Flock was enveloped by darkness.

_A/n: oooooo spooky..._


	6. Whitecoat Graveyard

_A/N: Yeaaa, this is not one of the longest, but its up there. Plot is going to pick up form here. I haven't begged for reviews, but they are appreciated. Thanx to those who have reviewed. I'm still trying to post chapters two at a time. ch.7 in progress..._

**Disclaimer: i do not own the Flock, nor Itex. I do own School 4 (my idea) and a few other characters (coming in later, i don't want to spoil it) **

Chapter 6

Whitecoat Graveyard

Expiration Countdown: 6 days, 6 hours, 40 minutes.

It was dark. Really dark, as in being in a really bright room then suddenly turning off the lights dark. Everyone stayed still for a moment, waiting for their eyes to adjust, except for Iggy, who was already feeling around.

Fang didn't have clear vision, but he could understand what he was looking at. The place was a mess. Overturned chairs and tables, debris, and various broken equipment was scattered everywhere. Also the room they were in was small, so there had to be a door around somewhere.

The Flock had begun to wander. Everyone was curious about what happened in here. It looked like people left in a hurry. There was even clothing, jewelry, and other personal items around, as if they were dropped during a frantic escape.

A dim light brightened up Angel's face. She had found a few flashlights, which, by some miracle, worked. Well, sort of worked. It provided enough light for everyone to see.

Flashlight in hand, Fang moved forward, and approached some rectangular frame things. Metal detectors. Fang realized that they were metal detectors. This probably was a security check in or something, which implied that…

"Guys" Iggy whispered, "I found a door or something over here." Iggy had been tracing around the walls, and collected a great amount of dirt all over his palms.

"Why are you whispering?" Total asked as he walked over to Iggy. "There isn't anyone here."

"How do you know that?" Fang whispered back. "No one has entered this place for five years, nor has anyone left. I don't care how unlikely it is, be on your guard."

Everyone in The Flock then tried their best to stay quiet, and went to the door. It was a normal door, with a knob. Fang carefully turned the knob, and opened the door. This new room they entered was huge. Their flashlight barely penetrated the darkness.

They walked in, and Gasman stepped on something that crunched. All flashlights immediately turned to him. Gaz looked down in horror, because he had just stepped on a pair of glasses. Glasses that belonged to a skeleton not too far from him. Nudge squeaked, and Angel stepped back. Fang quickly looked at the floor ahead of them. The place was a whitecoat graveyard.

"Ok everybody, do not shine your flashlights at the ground. And don't worry if you step on anything, just don't worry, and don't look." Fang told them.

Something bad happened here. It was best for The Flock to not look at all the skeletons. The Flock pressed forward, and Nudge stepped on something that crunched. She gasped, but she didn't look down. Fang gave her a nod, and everyone kept on going.

* * *

Expiration Countdown: ??

The Flock was lost. This place was bigger than The School—or rather School 2. It was like one gigantic room, and many smaller rooms and hallways branching away from it. Fang had been naming the rooms they entered. The first one was the Security Room, and the big room was the Whitecoat Graveyard. There were more, but most of them were just dusty and empty.

Fang realized a few hours ago that he had no idea what he was looking for. And The Voice hadn't said anything to him for hours.

Whenever The Flock returned to the Whitecoat Graveyard, Angel would start whimpering. Fang assumed that she knew about all the skeletons, but after some time, he got worried. He took Angel aside.

"What's wrong Angel? Are you scared?" Fang asked. Angel nodded.

"Is it the skeletons?" said Fang. Angel shook her head, her curls bouncing side to side. The rest of The Flock had gathered around. None were surprised about the skeletons. _So much for trying to protect them…_ thought Fang.

"They're everywhere." Angel whispered.

"No one is here—"

"Yes they are!" Angel insisted. Angel glanced up. "I hear them…There are so many, but only one..."

"Angel, that doesn't make any sense." Fang said, trying to be patient.

"What I mean is that there are a lot of them, but they are thinking the same thing. Only one thought" Angel said. The Flock was wide-eyed now, inching closer together.

"Where Angel? Where are they?" said Fang. Angel merely pointed upward. Nudge shined her flashlight up toward the ceiling and screamed.

Iggy was quick to cover her mouth, but Gaz had started too. Fang looked up himself and gasped. There was a creature up there. It reminded Fang of an Eraser, but it wasn't canine. Not at all. It was a giant, mutated looking bat, with a humanoid body and an Eraser-like head. Its wings were wrapped around itself, and it was hanging form the ceiling. It was completely still.

"Angel," said Fang with a voice with a slight hint of alarm. "What are they all thinking?"

"Sleep…sleep…" Angel whispered. She then gasped and tugged Fang's arm. "But not him! He's waking up! Get the light off him!"

Nudge, Gasman, and Fang had been shining their lights on the Bat-thing, and it was moving. Suddenly its huge yellow eyes opened, and it let out a piercing scream. Fang froze and shined his flashlight elsewhere on the ceiling. There were more, tons more. Thousands and thousand, all clustered on the high ceiling of the Whitecoat graveyard. And they were all waking up.

"Everybody FLY!"

The Flock took off, taking advantage of the building's high ceilings. More screeches echoed, and Fang heard flapping. He didn't dare look back. Fang shot into a hallway, also with an unusually high ceiling, and The Flock followed. They were being pursued by a mob of Bat-things.

Suddenly another shriek, unlike anything else Fang had heard before, sounded down the hallway. Fang's ears burned, and he crashed into the floor. The Flock felt it too, and crashed. The Bat-things were still screeching, and the screeches were getting closer. The Pain Shriek was echoing throug Fang's mind, causing pain. _Make it stop, make it stop..._Fang begged in his mind.

Fang looked at unconscious Max, who crashed with him. He got his arms around her, hugging her one last time. They were all going to die, and it was because Fang was a stupid leader…

_I'm so sorry Max. I've failed you and The Flock. Failed…I've failed…_

A blinding light filled the room. The screeches changed, more out of pain then anger. Then Fang could hear the Bat-things retreated. Even the huge painful shriek had stopped. Fang was blinded, but he could hear voices…of people.

"Get them in quick!" said an urgent, male voice.

"Who...what are they?" said another.

"One is unconscious. I'll take her…" said a younger voice. Max was ripped from Fang's grip.

"Kaede, they have to sleep." said the second voice. The last thing Fang remembered was a strangely beautiful singing, lulling him into a deep sleep.


	7. Welcome to the Refuge

Chapter 6

_A/N: I'm loving the reviews everyone. That doesn't mean you should stop anytime soon. I'm going to disappoint you here. Only a few questions are answered in this chapter. I'll provide answers gradually._

**Disclaimer: I own not Max, nor her Flock, nor Itex. JP has those. However, I do own Kaede, Loraine, Talon, Richard, and School 4. **

Chapter 7

Welcome to the Refuge

Expiration Countdown:??

Fang was dazed. The beautiful voice, the painful shriek, the army of screaming Bat-things…how did he end up in this cell?

He could remember a light. It blinded him, and there were voices. It was all a blur. All Fang knew was that he was alone in a small room, with four white walls, a huge mirror, and a door. He didn't bother trying to open the door, because it was obviously locked. And Fang had watched enough episodes of CSI here and there to know that the mirror was see-through.

_Ok, let me just take this all in slowly._ Fang thought.

_I am alone. Fact. The door is locked. Fact. The Flock's whereabouts are unknown. Fact. There were human voices before I passed out. Fact. Conclusion? School 4 is still operational, and we've walked ourselves right into their clutches._

Fang should've anticipated this. No one has left or entered this facility in five years, he'd known that. There were bound to be survivors, probably operating as if nothing happened, waiting to be rescued by Itex. Only no such rescue would happen anytime soon…

Fang heard the sound of a key being turned in a lock. He stood up, and braced himself for whatever was coming through the door. Inside stepped a middle-aged man, white, scruffy, and dirty. Followed by him was a woman. She was middle-aged too, with dark hair in a pony-tail, and wearing taped glasses. Both were wearing ragged, old clothing. Both could use a shower. Being trapped underground for five years obviously took its toll. Fang quickly began firing off questions.

"Who are you? Where's my Flock? Why was I locked up? What were those Bat-things? What made that awful shriek? And the beautiful voice? How can I..."

"So many questions for someone who just woke up." said the man. He found this all amusing.

"Do you mean the other avian-hybrids when you say 'my Flock'?" asked the woman in glasses. She then turned to the guy, looking excited. "I told you that they had developed a species. They live in flock groups, obviously with a male alpha. We'll only know for sure when the tests come back…"

"Tests?" Fang said loudly. "What tests? What have you done to my Flock?" The woman shushed him, and straightened her measly shirt.

"We should introduce ourselves, properly. I am Lorraine Fisher, genetic breeding specialist." said the woman with glasses.

"And I am Richard Gables.", said the man, "Five years ago I was Chief Genetic Engineer, as well as Chief Mechanical Engineer. Now…" Richard gestured at his appearance. "I am only a refugee now. Lori and I came in to welcome you to the Refuge."

A whitecoat never introduced themselves to Fang before, giving their full name and their position. That was new. And they called this place The Refuge. That implies safety, but Max's words were fresh in Fang's mind: There is no such thing as safe.

"I'm Fang, current leader of The Flock." Fang said, introducing himself in the same way they did. "If you really want to welcome me here, you'd let me out."

Oddly, Richard and Lorraine stepped aside form the door. Fang eyed the door, and prepared to shoot through it. Richard spoke before he had a chance.

"You seem to be under the impression that we're the enemy. That this facility is teeming with scientists. Well, it is teeming with scientists. Dead ones." Richard crossed his arms. Lorraine spoke up next.

"There are only two Itex employees still living down here, Richard and myself. Other than your Flock, The Refuge has the grand total population of four." Lorraine giggled a little when she said flock. Something she said didn't sit right with Fang…

"Population of four?" Fang asked.

"She means us."

A pale boy and girl, with jet black hair entered the room. Their appearance astounded, and disgusted Fang. They were probably his age, and they were Asian, with large, yellow, almond shaped eyes. The girl was beautiful. She would've been more beautiful if she didn't look so terrified. The boy was skinny, but seemed to have loads of muscle packed into his skinny body. He was scowling at Fang. The two were the spitting images of each other.

But that wasn't what Fang was staring at. They both had wings. Not wings like Fang, they had…Bat-thing wings. Their feet, were also claw-like. In fact, one of the boy's hands was a huge claw, with gigantic, sharp talons. Their bat wings were black like their hair, and looked leathery. It was so different, so weird, so….

Fang had been holding eye contact with the boy, unable to look away from them.

"Done staring now?' the boy hissed. "Well, Richard said we were going to introduce ourselves, so I am Talon, and this is my twin sister Kaede." The boy...Talon…wasn't very friendly. Kaede was fearful, hiding behind her brother. Talon unfolded one of his wings to shield her.

"This is…nice I guess." Fang said, "…but I'm on a time restraint here. How long have I been out?"

"Three days" said a melodious, sweet, yet afraid sounding voice. Fang realized it came from Kaede.

Three days? There were only about two days left for Max, maybe three if Fang was lucky. Who knew how long The Flock wandered in the Whitecoat Graveyard.

"I need to see my Flock, and I need to see them now." Fang ordered. The group standing by the doorway obliged, and motioned for Fang to follow them.


	8. Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 8

_A/N: I've been trying to balance the dialogue and description. I do a bad job of it in this chapter, but not much action is going on, and a lot is being said. I'm happy with the speed I'm writing this. It's like my fingers know what to type before I do. I've been looking at the stats for this, and it's weird. It's like people are skipping chapters. Go ahead if you wish, but you'll miss out._

**Disclaimer: I have said this before, and I shall say it again. Max, Flock, Itex not mine. Kaede, Talon, Richard, Lorraine, School 4 mine.**

Chapter 8

Five Years Ago/Sleeping Beauty

Expiration Countdown: 2 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes

The Flock was all in one piece. Well, all but Max.

The humans and bat mutants didn't resist them or anything. They lead the Flock right to Max. Max was inside a dusty white room, with a lot of shelves and machines.

Fang concluded that this was a hospital room or something. The shelves probably used to hold equipment and medicine. They only held broken glass now. Everything was broken and wrecked. Except for the thing Max was in.

She was in a glass-like casing, which ultimately was hooked up to a lot of equipment, which looked like they were salvaged from the surrounding wreckage. Max was being monitored; her heart, her breathing, and she even had one of those bag things full of fluid nearby that. Lorraine proudly looked at the big monster of machinery that held Max.

"Your friend is in a coma," she started to say, "and because of her impending expiration, she won't be waking up. It's actually less painful for her this way. Richard put together the machines, and I've taken some samples from her."

Like Fang cared. He already knew all that, and all these people—and the bat-winged freaks—have done was waste their time. Max didn't have much longer.

"Ok, I want you whitecoats to listen," said Fang.

Looking over at the twins, Fang said, "and I want you freaks over there to listen up too. We were told by…a source…that Max could be saved if we came down here. We're just going to take Max, and be on our way. Thanks for making this harder than it had to be. Thanks a lot."

"Son, you're jumping to conclusions." said Richard. "How can you know that we don't know how to help little Sleeping Beauty here?"

Fang should've thought of that...Richard continued, saying "There is a machine that deactivates expiration dates. We could save Max's life, and deactivate all of your dates too." Richard then gave Fang a hard look.

"I won't beat around the bush with you. We can help you, but only if you help us."

Fang could understand that, but he wasn't feeling all that reasonable at the moment. He took a long look at Max. She indeed was Sleeping Beauty. _This could be what the Voice wanted us to find. But at what price…_

"I guess you can't get anything for nothing." Fang said. "First, before we make a deal or anything, I want to know something. What happened here? Why was this placed locked up?"

Lorraine and Richard exchanged glances. Kaede was hiding in a corner, and Talon stood protectively in front of her. This story wouldn't have a happy ending. Richard cleared his throat, and relayed the tale.

"School 4's primary mission was to genetically engineer a new species. Its secondary objective was to replace the human-canine hybrids, a.k.a. the Erasers. We achieved both."

"They are called Screechers. After so many trials, so many errors, we had a huge success with chiropteran-canine-human hybrids. That is, they were part bat, part wolf, and part human. The human part was miniscule, only affecting appearance."

"We were able to breed them, thus creating a new species. It was one of Itex's great successes. Then we heard of School 2's avian-human hybrids, that is, your flock. We felt that we had to develop our own human hybrid."

"We took the canine out of the Screecher mix, and added more human. That was how Shred and Siren were created."

"Shred and Siren were unlike anything we had ever observed. Siren was pleasing in everyway, and Shred was stronger than anything. They were mirror images of each other. They were perfect. Their only downfall was that they both were sterile. They couldn't interbreed, therefore they weren't a species."

"We usually annihilated failures, but we cloned Siren and Shred instead. That was how we got Talon and Kaede. Spitting images of the original two when they were younger, except for Talon's minor deformity."

"Five years ago, the originals mutated. They had become telepathic, but not with humans, but with the Screechers. They…" Richard finally trailed off. This was probably where everything went wrong. Talon stood up form the back, and picked the story back up.

"Siren and Shred were anything but perfect," Talon said, fiercely.

"They had planned with the Screechers, and killed everyone. They initiated a lockdown, trapping everyone inside, and ate them all. They spared me and Kaede because we are just like them. Lorraine and Richard are alive because Shred and Siren don't know they are here."

There was a silence. Fang noticed that Richard and Lorraine were making the Siren and Shred people sound like perfect angels, when they really were cannibalizing bat-freaks. Not all questions were answered, but Fang had the gist of it.

"So, what do you reckon we should do to save Max?" Fang asked.

"Well, Lorraine and I haven't left the refuge in five years. We can't because if the Screechers smell us, they'll attack." Richard explained.

"Talon and Kaede have been able to walk around the building freely. Talon knows the place by heart, so he can lead you there. But once Max is saved, you guys need to help get us out of here. Understand? " Richard looked at Talon. "How about it Tal?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Talon. Talon, in turn, scanned everyone else's face, finishing with Fang. They made eye contact. Talon's eyes were not friendly.

"No."

_A/N: review if you like. I wrote the next chapter and it was sooo long. Most of it was dialogue. I'd split it into two, but there isn't any good breaks. So I'll just post chapter 9 in two parts. Fang and Talon verbally dual._


	9. Fellow Freaks

_A/N: I edited this chapter mercilessly. It was soo soo long before, I considered splitting it up into two. Luckily I didn't have to. This is mostly dialogue. Fang and Talon are beefing, and Fang decides to do something about it. In other words, they play 20 questions. Mild language here._

**Disclaimer: Fang is not mine. Talon is mine. Angel isn't mine. Get it? **

Chapter 9

Fellow Freaks

Expiration Countdown: 2 days, 3 hours, 8 minutes.

It was incredible. Max was going to die in only two days, and the Bat-Freak decided that he didn't want to save her. This was life and death here. This was _Max's_ life and death here. Fang had a few ideas of what he would do to that Talon kid if Max died.

Angel told Fang where the bat-freaks "roosted". She said that Fang and Talon had stuff to work out, whatever that meant. Fang went down the hall, and to a ladder. He was up that ladder in no time, opening a trap door to get into the next room.

It was a weird shaped room, like a huge cylinder, or silo. Talon hung from the rafters on the ceiling, his wings folded around his body. Once Fang entered the silo, the bat mutant's yellow eyes snapped open. Talon chuckled.

"Oh look who the bat dragged in. If it isn't Fag…I mean Fang." said Talon, grinning.

"I just…thought I should…drop in." Fang said uncomfortably. He had to convince this guy that he wasn't a fa—that he wasn't a bad guy.

"Actually, I'll be the one dropping in." said Talon. Talon unfolded his wings, and his clawed feet let go of the rafters. He turned right-side up in midair, landing loudly on the metal floor.

"Now, why have you ever disturbed my slumber? I'm not really tired, but it's rude all the same." Talon asked. This wasn't Fang's thing, to apologize to someone he didn't like that much.

"Well, this is a waste of time, I'll just resume my nap now." said Talon. Talon jumped in the air, flying to the top of the silo.

He reached with his taloned feet, and gripped the rafters. Once he got upside down, his wings folded around him.

Fang stretched out his own wings, and flew right up to the top. When he got to the rafters, he hooked his legs over them, and hung upside down as well. He felt his blood rush to his head. Fang also wasn't level with Talon's face, but that was a minor obstacle.

"You don't look very comfortable like that." mocked Talon. "It's a bat-freak thing. You won't enjoy it. Now get off before I push you."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll do anything to get Max to that machine. What do you want from me?" Fang asked. Fang was keeping his face emotionless, just in case Talon could see it. Begging wasn't a Fang-thing to do, and he would never beg for anything…well, there might be one or two things he'd beg for.

"What do I want from you?" Talon said. "I want answers. Question #1: Why are we so freakish and your not? We're not so different."

An understandable question. But as Fang said earlier, you can't get anything for nothing.

"I want answers too." Fang said. "As for your question, I was chased around a dark underground building by things sorta like you. And I've never seen anything like you. I didn't know what to think."

Fang tried to see Talon's face, and his reaction, but was unable to get a good view.

"As for my question for you," Fang began, "why are you unreasonable? What did I do to you?"

"You and your Flock are the first other mutants I've ever seen. Thought you guys might be friendly, which you don't seem to be."

"What makes you think we're not?"

"Wait your turn Fag." said Talon. "Question #2: What's the sky like?"

This wasn't the question Fang expected. Fang didn't discuss how the sky was, nor did he discuss his feelings, nor did he beg, nor did he speak much at all unless it was necessary. But this kid really wanted to know, and Fang could see why. Talon had lived in this place, underground, all his life. No sunlight, no windows.

"Well, it's…huge. It never ends, and it mostly is blue, but sometimes it's white, grey, and when the sun goes up or down it gets all colorful. I don't really know how to..."

"That's ok" interrupted Talon. "I wouldn't imagine it right anyway. Your question?"

"The scream, where had that come from? It was so painful." asked Fang.

"Oh, that was Siren. Well not really," said Talon cryptically. "Siren and Shred are psychos. Siren has a dual personality, called Shrieker. Siren becomes Shrieker when she's angry, or on her period. If we didn't save you, your ear drums would've burst."

Oh. When Talon said that Siren and Shred weren't perfect, he wasn't kidding.

"My turn." said Talon. "Will you go away now?"

"No. My turn. What sorts of tests and samples were taken from Max? I don't really trust Lorraine." asked Fang.

"Good, because sweet old' Lorri is loony. She's obsessed with her profession, genetic breeding specialist. All Lorraine wanted to know was if Max could have kids or not."

"That's creepy."

"Tell me about it. I'm trapped with her. Richard is worse, he worships Siren."

"Wow…it's your question." Fang reminded Talon.

"Oh, right. Have you changed your mind about me being a bat-freak?" Talon asked casually.

"No, but I have decided that I'm a bird-freak."

"In that case, there are too many freaks in this silo. Out."

"No. Why do you think we are unfriendly?" wondered Fang.

"You and your flock stared us down completely. It was like you've never seen a mutant before. And you are mutants yourselves. How important is this Max girl to you?"

"Very." Fang said evasively.

"Be more specific."

"No."

"I'll just sleep here for the next two days while Max wastes away."

"Fine. She is the flock leader, and we need her. I can't do this myself."

"More." urged Talon.

"No." Fang insisted.

"Your loss."

"I'm leaving." said an irritated Fang.

"Great." Talon quietly responded. Fang began to unhook his legs from the rafters. He was going to drop down, and fly himself to the ground. Mid-drop, his foot was caught by Talon's clawed hand. Talon, who was much stronger than Fang would've guessed, easily held up Fang.

"You must care about this girl a lot if you don't want to say anything." said Talon. "In fact, in order to avoid talking to me, you'll just walk away from the way to save her. Talk about shy."

"Let. Me. Go." Fang said through his teeth.

"Ok then. Silly me, considering to actually help you save your girlfriend. You obviously would rather…"

"What? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well, I just thought that a freak might help out a fellow freak. All I wanted was for you to admit that we aren't different. And to make you acknowledge that we're all freaks here. And to have an intelligent conversation with someone other than my sister. Since I achieved all, I just might go out of my way to save someone."

"That's…umm…are you going to call me Fag or Fang or what?"

"I was thinking Bird-Freak."

"Ok then Bat-freak. So are you…"

"Get out of my silo, and I'll think about it."

* * *

Lorraine/Richard Pov:

Lorraine and Richard were crowded around Max's unconscious form. Lorraine has a scanner of sorts in her hand, and rolled Max over on her side.

"Must we do this?" she asked.

"Yes," answered Richard. "We have done so much already, and I won't let Talon screw things up. Do it now."

Lorraine touched Max's back with the machine, and a shock passed through her. Max then began to shake and thrash.


	10. Expiration

_A/N: this is pretty long, but here's why you should read it: POV change at the end, but i won't say who. All I'm going to say is that someone's teim is up. READ ANd REVIEW! I have no idea why only 60 people have read ch. 7 and 100 read ch. 8. Oh well, the readers, can read whatever they want. I just hope they read my stuff._

**Disclaimer: I really don't want to repeat this. refer to Chapters 1-9.**

Chapter 10

Expiration

Expiration countdown: 1 day…or 1 hour…or 10 minutes…??

The Flock rushed to Max's side. Apparently, Max had begun to convulse. This wasn't meant to happen. Max was meant to sleep peacefully. Lorraine administered something in a syringe, and Max stopped thrashing.

"She is prematurely expiring." said Lorraine, exasperated. "She might have an hour, she might have ten minutes. Something must be done now."

Talon and Kaede rushed into the room. Fang and Talon's eyes met, and they looked at each other for the longest time. Talon nodded, and went to pick up Max. Fang put himself between the two.

"I'll just take her…right…thanks." said Fang, fumbling to get a hold of Max's body. Talon grabbed Fang's wrist and made Fang look at him.

"There are three reasons why I should carry her," said Talon. "1) I can see in the dark. 2) I know this place like the back of my hand. And 3) I may look skinny, but I'm stronger than you. Face it, she's safer with me."

Fang reluctantly handed over Max. Everyone inside The Refuge followed them as they went to some big white doors. Richard went to some controls to prepare for opening the doors.

"There are special lights built in around the doorway, to protect us from Screechers." said Richard. "That's how we saved you before, by turning them on. We'll stand by here just in case you need them."

The doors opened, and Fang could see nothing. Talon already started heading out the door, but Fang stood where he was. He would never be able to follow Talon in the darkness.

Kaede stopped Talon from leaving, and brought out a line of rope. One end was on Talon's ankle, the other on Fang's wrist. That was the best that they could do.

"Ok," Talon said. "They didn't seem to attack you until you woke them up last time, so as long as we're quiet, we should be ok. Ready to fly Bird-freak?"

"Only if you are Bat-freak."

Talon, Max in his arms, ran into the dark abyss and leapt into the air, disappearing in the darkness. Fang was pulled after him, and he began to fly too. Fang had some vision, but he relied on Talon until his eyes adjusted. Fang shortened the rope between him and Talon, making it easier to follow him.

Fang's eyes soon adjusted, and Fang could make out vague shapes, which all seemed to be breathing. _Good god, we're flying straight through a swarm of Screechers. _Talon barely noticed the Screechers, flying confidently, as if he didn't have a dying girl over his shoulder.

Fang would never admit it to anyone ever, but he was scared. He was flying blind, with the threat of Max's death on his mind. He had to trust Talon, who was moody and complicated. Fang wasn't even sure if they were on friendly terms now.

The rope slipped a little, creating some more distance between the two boys. Talon took a sharp turn, and Fang didn't turn in time. Fang crashed in the wall, but Talon kept pulling him along. Fang was panicking inside. _I'm making so much noise, _he thought, _The Screechers will surely wake up._

Fang got himself airborne again, and was right on Talon's tail. Fang was pretty certain that nothing woke up. Talon landed, but kept running. Fang did the same, passing by various cages. _Oh god, this is where they kept the experiments. _The need and urgency to see his surroundings was replaced by a sick disgusted feeling. Fang didn't want to know about what happened to the experiments when the Screechers took over.

Talon came to a lab table, and set Max down. He then began looking around through the wreckage, muttering to himself. Fang was at Max's side. She was breathing, but her breathes were shallow, and her heart rate was slower than normal.

"Ah hah!" Talon whispered loudly. His voice made Fang jump, which was odd enough. Fang never was startled, well, not in normal circumstances. Talon carried over a medium sized rectangular contraption, with a little attachment connected by a cord. Talon triumphantly put it on the lab table next to Max.

"See this?" Talon whispered. "This attachment part scans Max's bar code, and I can choose to deactivate the expiration date from the console here. We can bring it back to The Refuge and do everyone else there."

"Is it like those things at the grocery store?" whispered Fang. "Where they scan what you want and it goes on the bill?"

"I wouldn't know" replied Talon. "The tricky part is figuring out where the bar code is. My first guess is the back of her neck."

Fang propped Max up while Talon tried scanning Max's neck. Nothing.

"Where else should I try?" asked Talon.

"I don't know! Just scan all over!" Fang whispered urgently.

Talon clumsily passed the scanner over Max randomly, yielding no results. Max's breathing turned into wheezing. Talon was now brushing the scanner up and down Max's legs.

"Why are you scanning there? What makes you think it would be _there?"_ asked Fang. Fang grabbed for the scanner himself, but Talon kept a firm grip on it.

"I just thought that we should check everywhere. The whitecoats were insane, the bar code could be anywhere inside her! Now keep your voice down." Talon whispered.

Fang yanked the scanner out of Talon's grasp. The two fought over it until Talon finally got the scanner to himself again. Max's body fell on both of them, her weight surprising them both.

"Fang, hold her up, she's just going to slow us down. She's like a dead body."

"Don't say that. I'll hold her, but don't say that. She isn't dead." said Fang, who wasn't that reassured.

"Not yet anyway." Talon muttered. Talon continued scanning Max's body. Fang noticed that Max's chest wasn't moving. He checked her pulse, and felt nothing. _No, no, no, no…_

The scanner beeped rapidly. Talon had the scanner on her shoulder, and went over to the console. After pressing some buttons, Talon pressed the Scanner onto Max's skin. It looked as if some shock passed into Max.

"It's done." Talon said.

The two watched Max, who remained unresponsive. Fang shook Max, trying to wake her up. Talon grabbed Fang's arm, stopping him. Max wasn't dead, she couldn't be, not Maximum Ride…

"This is your fault!" Fang shouted at Talon. "If you weren't so damn difficult, this never would've..."

"She isn't dead yet." Talon said looking over the console confused. "This should've worked…"

"Of course she's dead! No pulse and no breathing are common indicators that someone is dead! Max is dead, and I don't care if I wake up the entire School, I'm going to kill you!" Fang shouted.

Fang lunged at Talon, who swiftly jumped out of the way. Fang tried to punch Talon, but Talon caught Fang's fist in his clawed hand.

"Max is not dead." Talon whispered. Talon opened his mouth, and fangs slid out of his gums. "What kind of bats do you think Itex was messing with? Fruit Bats? I know she's alive because I can _smell_ her blood flowing. Now lay off and I'll use the machine again."

Talon had nearly crushed Fang's hand with his talons, and Fang was bleeding. Fang didn't really care. Talon was at the scanner contraption again, messing with buttons. He pressed the scanner on Max's shoulder again.

"I raised the power. If this doesn't work, she'll never wake up." whispered Talon.

Talon pressed a button on the console, and a huge surge went through the cord into Max. Max's eyes instantly snapped open, and she sat up gasping for air.

* * *

Max Pov:

I couldn't move, couldn't see, and felt like I couldn't breathe. It was like no matter how many times I gasped for air, I just couldn't get enough. Where was I? Where was the Flock? Where was Fang?

A cold hand covered my mouth, and a pair of horrible yellow eyes stared at me through the darkness. I heard a _shhhhhhhhhh! _Oh crap, a whitecoat. I took that hand, and I bit down hard. I heard a yelp, and the hand was yanked out of my mouth.

I was about to get up and give that whitecoat a beating from Yours Truly, despite the fact that I was blind, but I was grabbed by another hand. I reached for where I thought this assailant's neck would be, and grasped something soft. I yanked, and heard another yelp, except this one was familiar.

"Fang? Is that you?" I asked, unsure.

I realized that I was holding onto a handful of feathers. I just tore out a handful of Fang's feathers. I knew it was him now; all of The Flock had different feeling feathers. This was Fang. Fang was here. I reached blindly for him, and fell off whatever I was on before. I crashed into some equipment, and it clanged loudly.

"Could your girlfriend just be quiet!" whispered an unfamiliar voice. Then I heard someone swear, but it wasn't Fang. I also began to hear a voice, a far off one who was singing. It was very pretty, but it immobilized me as well.

"Is that her?" asked Fang.

"You've done it now Bird-Freak." whispered the other perosn. "Siren is coming down to visit."

* * *

_A/N: Good news: we shall be narrated by Max once more. Bad news: perhaps not for long_


	11. Siren

_A/N: We meet the insane mutant bat things of School 4. Well, mostly one of them. There is some language._

**Disclaimer: Talon, Kaede, Richard (Richy), Shred, and Shrieker are mine. Fang and Max and the Flock are JP's.**

Chapter 11

Siren

The eerie singing was getting closer. I had located Fang, and was gripping his shoulders for support. _Voice? Where are you? Did you miss me? Were you lonely? _No one answered. I wasn't sure is I was happy or sad. Fang and the other person were whispering.

"Should we just make a break for The Refuge?" asked Fang.

"No." answered Mystery Boy. "Siren would be singing something different is she wished us harm. She isn't Shrieker…she's probably just curious. Just let her look at us, and then we're out. I'll take the machine with me, you keep Max with you."

I wanted to know who this Siren and Shrieker people were. And Mystery Boy, who is he? And where was I anyway? And why was it so dark? And where—

Suddenly some bright lights turned on above us, lighting about ten yards before the darkness continued. It looked like I had been on top of an operation table. A figure was crouched, on top of one of the lights that hung from the ceiling. It was the source of the music, probably that Siren character. Fang grabbed my hand and began to lead me away.

"Oh don't go" said a lyrical sounding voice, coming from the figure. "We have not been introduced."

The figure jumped down, landing in the light. I gasped. She was gorgeous, not to mention scantily clad. She was Asian, with snow white skin, and really black hair, and she had those yellow eyes. And she obviously was a mutant. The wings clued me in, and the taloned feet. I couldn't stop staring.

Fang started to tug on my wrist. I tore my eyes off the Bat-girl, and began to stare at Mystery Boy. Or should I say Bat-boy. He was just like her, except younger, skinnier, and had one taloned hand as well as the feet. Bat-girl—I guess she's Siren—walked over to Bat-boy, chuckling on her way over. Bat-boy was frozen where he was, and Siren stroked his hair.

"Oh, dear Talon, the last time I saw you, you were eight. Maybe nine." said Siren. "I forgot how skinny and small Shred used to be. You'll fill out sometime. Give my love to Kaede." Siren gave a sly smile at the Talon kid, like she was pretending to show pity.

"Is old Richy still bothering her? You must tell Kaede how sorry I am. I had no idea that he was infatuated with me, nor am I surprised. Poor thing, having to deal with one of my more violent admirers. I'm sure..."

"I'll pass the message on to her." Talon interrupted. Now I had four mystery people, Shrieker, Shred, Richy, and Kaede. Siren began to gaze at me and Fang intently.

"Who are your friends Talon? They are most interesting. Introduce us!" Siren gushed.

"Actually," said Talon, "we have to—"

"But you _must!_ We haven't had visitors in years!" Siren narrowed her eyes at Talon. "Perhaps Shred would like to meet them too. I'll just go wake him up…"

"No! No need to wake Shred up!" said a panicked Talon, jumping between us and Siren. "Here, these two are Fang and Max. Fang and Max, this is Siren. Everyone introduced? Well…"

Suddenly Siren yanked me away from Fang, and studied me individually. She touched my wings, and messed with my hair. _Ever seen a mutant bird kid before? Thought not. Well this is a first for me too, with mutant bat kids…_

"I had forgotten what normal, ugly girls looked like." said Siren, poking about my face and body. "What's it like, being so ugly? I've always wondered. No one ever answers me when I ask."

If I weren't still a bit shaky from the whole near-dying thing, I would've slapped this girl. The sick thing was that she seemed genuinely curious. Talk about immodesty. Siren turned her attention onto Fang.

"Oh, and I cannot forget you, you yummy boy. I haven't seen one like you in a long time." Siren giggled.

Alarms were ringing in my head. It was like Red-Haired Wonder or Dr. Amazing all over again. Except this girl was breath-taking, and would be even if she was wearing a decent amount of clothing. She was now toying with her hair, with his hair, with his feathers (his wing, by the way, looked like a huge chunk had been ripped off. Oops.), giggling like a school girl.

Fang looked like he shut down inside. He was stiff, leaning away from her advances. He wouldn't even look in her direction. Siren noticed, and she became angry alarmingly fast.

"Look at me! I SAID LOOK AT ME! Everyone else does, WHY WON'T YOU?" Siren yelled. Fang did a quick glance toward me, his eyes reassuring. Unfortunately, Siren saw it.

"Why do you look at that hideous whelp and not at me? Do I, the more beautiful girl, not please you? IS THAT WHY? Do you prefer that ugly one over me?" Siren said enraged. I was wondering the same thing. Fang had chased after some undeserving, yet prettier girls before, and this one was as pretty as they get.

Siren's words also cut me, and it made me angry that it did. Maximum Ride doesn't obsess over appearance. I have to save the world, and don't have the time to primp in the mirror. What was wrong with me?

Talon was urging Fang to look at her, but Fang still didn't. Siren's features distorted, and she grew fangs, and her fingernails grew into large talons. Talon, carrying some huge mechanical device with him, pulled us out of the light, and into the darkness.

"Fly, as fast as you can." said Talon. "Just follow me and keep flying. Shrieker is coming. She might even wake up the whole School, or even worse, Shred."

We were all airborne, pumping our wings at their fastest. I was holding onto Fang, since seeing was difficult, and Fang and Talon were connected by a rope. My heart was speeding. A terrible shriek called through the building, and another one answered. The sheer power of the two knocked me out of the air, and I crashed.

"Max!" I heard Fang cry, and he turned around for me. Talon was suddenly jerked backward by the rope, falling as well. Talon quickly scrambled to his feet.

"If we don't get going we are dead!" he said, terrified. "Those shrieks were from Shrieker and Shred. They are coming and they are coming for the kill. We have a head start, but we need to..."

"Hello there Talon!" said a booming, venomous voice. Two figures were moving about the darkness somewhere. All I could see of them was their glowing yellow eyes.

"I want the girl dead." said another voice. This voice sounded like Siren, but it was hoarse, and distorted. It wasn't lyrical or whimsical like Siren. "Kill the girl"

We were flying again, away from the two figures. Actually, I had a sick feeling that I knew who they were. Shrieker and Shred. Siren had called on these people, and they wanted me dead.

"A chase! How fun!" said Shred. Horrible laughing ensued, and it shook my body. I could hear the swift wing beats of Shred and Shrieker, gaining on us.

I was panting, my heart was racing, and I was flapping my wings with all of my might. My super-sonic flying speed kicked in, and soon I was leading the group, flying blindly in the darkness. I could hear Talon protesting behind me, but I didn't stop. Eventually I ran into something…a large vent, completely breaking through the grate and going down the ventilation shafts.

After tumbling around the shafts for two minutes, we finally broke out, coughing. I kept moving, crawling over to a wall, before I stopped out of exhaustion. I could hear the screams of Shred and Shrieker echoing.

Fang and Talon crawled their own way over to where I was, stretching their wings, and panting.

"Are they still coming?" said Fang, his voice betraying a hint of fear.

"No, no one comes down here, Not Siren, Shred, or any of the Screechers." said Talon solemnly. "I don't want to be down here, but it's saved our skins for now."

"Max." Fang whispered. "Are you hurt? Tell me you're ok."

"I'm fine Fang, really. Where is the Flock? I need to see my babies. I need to see them, I need to make sure they are ok…"

"We'll get back to the Refuge soon." said Talon. "Right now, let's just take a breather."

Fang had his arm around my shoulder pulling me close. Usually, I don't stand for such a thing, but I was just so dead-tired. I leaned my head on his shoulder, but only because my neck seemed too weak to support it. Suddenly, everything I could ever worry about just poured out of my mouth. Fang shushed me.

"It's ok Max, we're safe right now. What ever happened to never looking weak?" whispered Fang.

"Oh good, you actually took what I said about leadership to heart. Well, I've been awake for ten minutes, and already three people want me dead. It's nice to have everything back to normal again."

"There were only two people" Talon said. "Shrieker and Siren are the same person. Don't ask, just know that Siren is a psycho, and becomes insanely jealous easily. You're a natural at pissing people off." I'm pretty sure Fang smacked him, or glared at least.

My eyes had adjusted enough that I could understand what was around me. Except I didn't.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"This," breathed Talon, "is where I was born."


	12. Irrational

_A/N: this is the chapter where Max goes temporarily insane. Keep reviewing, I like hearing all of your opinions, positive, negative, or impartial._

**Disclaimer: Max and Fang are not my creation. Talon is. I must also pay tribute to the TV show Coupling, because I loosely incorporated a quote from it. Love that show!**

Chapter 12

Irrational

I had spent nearly an hour getting caught up on the week's events. And on all this School 4 business. During the whole chase, we were flying through swarms of hibernating bat mutants, and its so frickin' dark in here, I had no idea.

The Flock also walked around this place for hours, having no idea about the hibernating bat mutants. I could've strangled Fang. Stupid, bringing the entire Flock into an unknown place that used to be run by Itex. I would've gone in by myself, not bring the whole Flock into this mess.

Stupid Fang, putting the flock in danger, saving my guts all the time, taking my breath away, being so hot, and putting up with all my post-hibernation ranting. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why must he do this to me? WHY?

Talon went to scout around, to see if Shred and Shrieker/Siren had given it up. Fang and I were alone, in a dark room, and I could think of a million things that teenagers did in this situation.

Inside my head, rational Max said, "_Bad Max, bad girl. We don't go there, we never ever think about that sort of thing. Now, go back into your cage before you do something stupid. Or even worse, __**say**__ something stupid. Now get your head off his shoulder, get his arm off you, and get back to the Flock." _

I casually ignored rational Max. God I was as insane as Siren. Usually the Voice was rational Max, but since he decided to take my advice and leave me be, I'd gone bonkers. _But I'm cold and tired. _I figured. _Fang hasn't said anything, or indicated that…_

"_Wake up Max!" _rational Max urged. _"Since when has Fang said anything __**at all**__? You're talking about Mr. Silence is Golden." _

_Silence may be golden, _I said, _but duct-tape is silver._

"_THAT MAKES NO SENSE! And you just said that __**out loud**__, you IDIOT!" _I did? No way did I—

"Are you implying that you want to do something involving duct tape?" said Fang, obviously amused. Great, I had thoroughly lost all my marbles.

"How about we go scout around like Talon." I said, changing the subject. "I want to know what's up with this room anyway."

I got up, amazed at how strong I was. A moment ago I was too weak to sit up by myself. I began to wander, aware that Fang had begun to follow me. His presence was…I don't know how to say it, but I realized why I was so weak before.

Rows and rows of vat-like structures were arranged all over, all of them covered in dust and grime. I walked up to one, and wiped away some dirt. Two things happened. One: my hand got covered in the stuff. Two: I gasped and backed away. There was something dead in there, floating in the weird glowing liquid that was inside the vat.

But something was familiar. I got closer, and studied the corpse. Bat wings, talons, pale skin, jet black hair…Oh god this was Talon, except not. This Talon was seriously deformed. I wondered what this could be, and what was inside the other vats.

"What is this? This is sick." I said.

"This must be a clone." Fang said.

"A clone?"

"Yea, Talon and Kaede are clones of Siren and Shred. I guess it took a few tries for the whitecoats to get it right."

No wonder no one came down here. We walked back to where we were sitting before. The image of all those vats, of all those Talons who were thrown away, was burned into my eyelids.

We were back at square one, and I mean completely, sitting together, head on shoulder, his arm over me. _"You're unbelievable," _my rational self said. She was getting annoying.

The silence was killing me. I had to say something that required a multi-syllable response, and get a conversation going. Once every blue moon, I have succeeded at doing this, and even though I had no clue what the moon was like, I was confident.

"So how did you like it," I asked, "Being in charge of the entire Flock?"

"It was difficult."

"How so?" I asked, willing Fang to say at least five words. Was that too much to ask?

"Everyone has clashing personalities." Fang said. "You give them some freedom and they run wild. Leave them for a moment, and the entire camp is in ruins."

"But that's how it always is." I said. I was forcing him to say more. Fang gets the whole Max-when-she's-snuggly experience while I get a good conversation out of him. It was a fair deal.

"I had to deal with you also." Fang said. "I had to make sure your body was safe."

"Did I look peaceful?" I asked. He cocked his head to one side, the Fang-like sign that I had taken him off guard.

"What? You mean when you were unconscious?" Fang asked. "I…umm...yea, I guess. You looked so peaceful, you should've been embalmed. Not that you looked like a corpse, you weren't _decomposing_ or anything…I mean, you weren't anywhere near dead, or dead-looking, not at all…"

Score. We were silent again, but I couldn't stop now. I was on a roll. Fang had said more than I was aiming for already.

"What happened in the Refuge?" I asked, moving along the conversation.

"Well, you were put in some sort of stasis chamber. And every joked that…" Fang's voice drifted into unintelligible muttering. All I caught was "beauty". My heart leapt and I hastily replied.

"Fang, speak up." I said, masking my extremely misplaced and irrational excitement.

"What I said was that everyone joked that you were a regular Sleeping Beauty." Fang replied.

Oh no. Sarcasm. I should've known better than to think…I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. I should've listened to rational Max. I pulled myself away from Fang and sat there in silence.

"Yea right." I said ruefully. "Me, the hideous whelp, Sleeping Beauty."

"Oh no, Max…" whispered Fang, scooting closer.

"Oh no nothing, I get it." I said, scooting away.

"I think you misunderstood…"

"No, no. I got the message. Siren actually knows a thing or two…"

"What I meant was that I wished you were Sleeping Beauty." said Fang, surprising me. "Everything would've been so much easier."

"How so?" I asked turning around. Fang right beside me again, and rational Max was screaming at me.

"All I'd have to do to save you was this." Fang said, and he leaned in.

He grabbed the back of my head and pressed his lips to mine. Never really occurred to me that this was what I was getting at the whole time. This was what I wanted, I had been dreaming about this during my coma, and now it was happening. I had my hands going through his hair, exploring his back, and I had no intention of stopping. Even rational Max had decided to shut up.

Being irrational certainly had its perks.


	13. Reunion

_A/N: I love the reviews, so keep them coming. mild language here_

**Disclaimer: The flock/Itex are not my property. School 4 and all my characters are mine. Put that in ur pipe and smoke it.**

Chapter 13

Reunion

"Ok guys, Siren and Shred have lost their voices from all their screaming, and are sleeping again. I swear, they must tranquilize themselves or something, because this whole hibernation is just—whoah. Wow, ummm actually I still hear them, I'll just leave you two alone…"

Talon walked in on us mid-embrace. We pulled apart from each other, trying to act natural, when, in truth, I was red as a beet. Damn. I didn't even run away from Fang this time. What was worse was that there was a witness. _"See what your shenanigans have done?" _said RM (rational Max), _"Now you have to rip off Talon's face. Go on."_

"Let's get to that Refuge place." I said, practically growling. Talon raised his hands up, surrendering. An unspoken agreement had obviously been reached. Talon would say nothing, and I would spare his life, a more than fair deal.

"Be quiet and let me lead the way, then we'll get there." said Talon.

The trip back was uneventful. I was more aware of the sleeping figures hanging from the ceilings, but I was pretty distracted. I felt pretty amazing actually. I wanted to go in Siren's face and say "Take that slut!" Inside my mind, RM gasped. _Oh no, I said slut. That's a fifteen minute time out for me…_

We arrived at some doors. Talon went to a keypad and pressed some buttons, and all these bright lights immediately turned on. I gripped Fang, both of us temporarily blinded. I heard voices, familiar ones. My heart leapt, realizing that The Flock was there. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them.

"OMG It's Max!" said Nudge.

"I told you Max wouldn't die!" Gazzy cried.

"Total describe this scene for me." Iggy ordered.

"What's a slut?" Angel asked innocently.

"Turn down the lights, there are no Screechers." said an unknown male voice.

"Yes Richard!" replied a female voice.

_Richard…Richy…_Siren said that name. I struggled to remember. _She was talking about someone else, who was it…_

"Talon! You live!" squealed a lyrical sounding voice.

The lights had been turned off, and we were ushered into the room. The entire flock was embracing me, with the exception of Fang. I saw talon hug someone. It was a near replica of Siren, only this one was dressed and looked kind. I remembered her name: Kaede. What Siren said about her came back to me.:

"_Is old Richy still bothering her? Poor thing, having to deal with one of my more violent admirers."_

Two humans were in the corner messing with controls. The man walked up to me, to introduce himself. As he walked over, he gave me the Up-Down. I froze, and Fang tensed next to me. This guy was creepy. _Is old Richy still bothering her?_ I instantly felt sorry for Kaede. I didn't want to know what Siren was referring to.

Before the humans got too close, the Flock swarmed them, keeping them away.

"Get away from her!" Iggy said. The two humans backed away. Confused, Talon approached Iggy, Kaede closely following him.

"What's going on?" asked Talon. Nudge had run off, and now she was carrying something. It was a machine, some sort of console with a scanner attachment. Much like the one Talon as holding, nearly just like the one that saved my life.

"There was one of those here the entire time?" asked Fang, outraged.

"No." said Angel. "This one is opposite. It activates expiration dates, and it can do it from over 300 miles away." Angel looked over at the humans menacingly. "They did all this! They activated Max's date to make us come down here, and then made it happen early! It's all their fault!"

"Whoah, whoah, slow down." I said. "I just woke up from a very, very long nap, and I need to clear some things up. Why would they do that? Do they want me dead?"

"Not at all." Talon said, comprehending what the Flock was trying to convey. "Lorraine and Richard want to get out of here, but to get past the Screechers they need help."

Fang understood now too. "They did this to lure us into School 4." He said. Fang looked over to me and said, "We made a deal that if they helped save you, we'd help them get out of here."

Richard stepped forward. "We didn't want to set it off early," Richard insisted. "But Talon's stubbornness was getting in the way, so we sped things up a bit."

"Max nearly died!" yelled Fang. "We all nearly died trying to save her!"

"But we need to get out of here!" said Lorraine. "You weren't there when everything went wrong, you don't dream about the screams, we have to escape, we have to!"

"You do realize that you endangered the lives of six, no, eight kids right?" I said. Everyone in School 4 was insane, except for maybe Talon and Kaede.

"Does that mean anything to you? Did ever think of the risks the Flock had to take to save me?" I was shaking in anger. "It wasn't even all for me was it? IT WAS ALL FOR YOU!"

The Flock all grabbed hold of the whitecoats, and led them away. They were protesting, trying to reason with them. The joy of my reunion with my babies was completely spoiled. I was used; I was only a part in their grand plan to escape from here. Luckily for them, I lived. If I died, I would've gotten beaten the crap out of them…in spirit. Talon and Kaede were whispering.

"Once Angel found out, we had them locked up," whispered Kaede. "I hope we never let them out again. I hate them Talon, they've always been so horrible to me."

"Shush, I know Kaede. Richard will never bother you again. How has the Flock been to you?" asked Talon.

"I stayed away, but Angel and Nudge approached me. I do like them. I sang for them, and they told me stories about outside. Eventually I met Gazzy and Ig too. They're nice."

Kaede sort of leaned in to Talon. I shouldn't have been listening, this was a brother-sister thing, but I couldn't help it.

"Do we get to escape too?" asked Kaede. Fang and I had begun to walk towards the Flock, who had returned. I barely heard Talon's response.

"No Kaede, I don't think we do."


	14. Escape Plan

_A/N: working on something new now! For this story the end is near. Sorry. Sequel prehaps? Review!_

**Disclaimer: Flock is not mine, but everythign not mentioned in JP books are mine.**

Chapter 14

Escape Plan

For the past few hours, Talon, Fang, and I had communed in this giant silo, all of us hanging upside down. It made thinking up an escape plan a lot more difficult, but Talon did most of the thinking for us. Everyone gathered into the room with the giant doors, and talon began briefing everyone.

"Everyone, this is what we know," started Talon. "If Lorraine or Richard steps outside the Refuge, all the Screechers will wake up for a midnight snack."

"If any of us mutants leave, we can sneak by if we're quiet. But, Siren and Shred don't like Max that much, and probably will attack if she tries to leave."

"The dilemma is that no matter who we leave behind or bring, we won't get away quietly. So, as the leading authorities in this group, we have decided that _everyone_ gets a chance to be free."

The reaction was mixed. The happiness on Kaede's beautiful face was indescribable. Same with the joy on Lorraine's and Richard's face. The Flock didn't look that thrilled.

"Why are we helping the whitecoats?" asked Gazzy.

"Because, they want out as much as us, and I wouldn't feel right if I deliberately left someone behind." I answered. "Even two-faced whitecoats."

As much as the Flock grumbled, I actually believed what I said. I'd never leave anyone behind as bat food. I wouldn't live with myself. Talon resumed telling his plan.

"There's an upside to the whole Siren encounter we had today," said Talon. "We saw Siren turn on some lights."

"We had always thought that the power had completely gone out, but there was a back up system all along. Turn on the School's lights, and every single Screecher will be too blind to move."

Everyone began gathering up supplies, like food, bombs, and the like. I hadn't seen sunlight since I blacked. Lorraine and Richard have not seen sunlight for five years. Talon and Kaede have never seen sunlight at all. No wonder the bat hybrids were so excited.

The white doors opened, but everything was still dark out there. Talon motioned for us to wait, and he ventured out alone. A few minutes later, bright lights lit up the entire facility. We all ran out into the Whitecoat Graveyard.

The floor was completely littered with skeletons, but that wasn't as horrifying as what was on the walls and ceiling. Thousands of Screechers were hanging, all of them cringing at the sudden light. Lorraine and Richard looked around them in horror, obviously surprised at how many there were.

_Max?_ asked Angel form inside my mind. _Do you think Talon and Kaede can see in here? Or are they blind?_

_Sweetie, Talon is leading us out, so I'm pretty certain he isn't blinded by the light. _I answered.

_Does that mean that Siren and Shred can see too?_ Angel asked innocently.

_I don't think so sweetie._

_I do. _Angel answered.

Loud, melodious cackling sounded through the air, and Siren swooped down from above, landing in front of our group. We all stopped in our tracks, in fear, anticipation, or amazement. Siren was as gorgeous in the light as she was in the dark.

"Don't go," she cooed. "We've barely met. Maybe we could be friends."

She walked around us, stroking Richard and Iggy as she walked by. Both looked like they were just touched by a goddess. She finally got to Fang, who flinched away from her. Siren abruptly turned to me and slapped me across the face.

"I am the most beautiful you slut!" Siren cried, going into Shrieker-mode. "Me! ME, ME, ME, ME!

Everyone got running again while Siren…no, Shrieker began screaming. Only Richard stayed behind.

"Siren, what about me? Don't you still love me?" Richard whimpered. Shrieker looked at him, and began to look like Siren again.

She went to him, as if to hug, only to attack his throat. Her talons were ripping and shredding Richard's flesh apart, his screams of horror making the Screechers shriek in response. We were frozen, and watched Shrieker leave Richard's body, her face covered with blood. She looked at me, and I felt sick. Lorraine was crying.

A shadowy figure jumped down form above. This person was at least 7 feet tall, abnormally muscular, and had long sharp looking claws coming from all of its hands and feet. It was Talon on steroids.

"Everyone fly!" I screamed, and we were off. Than I remembered one detail: Lorraine. I turned to grab her and take her with us, but it was too late. Shred was already upon her, making quicker work of her than Shrieker did of Richard.

Lorraine's screams ended, and we still hadn't reached the doors. I was flying behind everybody else, making sure that no one would straggle behind. All I could think about was keeping my flock, my family safe. If anyone was dying here today, it would be me.

Siren came barreling through the air, and tackled me down to the ground.


	15. Crowbar Sneak Attack

_A/N: I've been pretty good at maintaining the same POV's throughout the fanfic, but these last chapters are different. A lot is happening, and Max can't be everywhere at once. We get some Max, Talon and Fang here. Max and Siren have a cat-fight. Rawr! Mild language…_

**Disclaimer: Dude, I nearly forgot this. I own not the Flock, nor Itex. That said, KAede, Talon, Shrieker/Siren, Shred, and School 4 are mine. Mine I say!**

Chapter 15

Confrontation

I was wrestling on the ground with Shrieker. She was trying to cut me to ribbons with her talons, but I used my feet to push her away from me, and I was holding her wrists. The whole time she was thrashing and screaming like a banshee, her face full of hate.

The only thing I did to get on her bad side was…well I actually didn't do anything. Fang chose me over her, and that's why she hated me so much. Shrieker is the most selfish, immodest, conceited creature on the planet, and I don't think anyone has preferred another girl over her before. Psychological analysis of Shrieker out of the way, I concentrated on keeping her claws away from me.

One of her hands came dangerously close to maiming my face. This girl was going to destroy me in everyway possible, and having her thrashing over my body, held back only by my feet, wasn't that easy.

She got one of her wrists loose, and slashed my stomach. I gasped, fumbling to regain control of her free hand. Shrieker back-handed me, her claws scratching my face. I barely was holding away her deadly foot claws, which were tons longer and sharper than the ones on her hands, away.

Shrieker punched me, and rolled out of my grip. I was recoiling from her last hit when she began to drag me by my hair. I saw her look down at me menacingly, and raised her very taloned hand.

"When I'm done with you," she said, "No one will ever think you're prettier than me."

I knew I was done for, but I held comfort that the Flock had gotten away. I closed my eyes, and waited for Shrieker to strike.

Fang Pov:

Max was gone. Vampire Slut had thrown herself at Max. She's called Vampire Slut (VS), because all she really wants is to suck my soul out, probably through the mouth. I know, you're probably thinking why a guy would not want a beautiful girl to throw herself at him, but this girl is not just pretty. She's sadistic. Don't know what sadistic means? Look it up, there are like five different definitions that describe VS perfectly.

I stood there, trying to decide my next move. Max was struggling to keep VS's horrible claws away from her. VS then actually got Max, on the stomach and the face. Max bled. I was going to jump in when Shred stood in my way. This guy was bigger than me, and his hulking muscles towered over me, his talons were lethal. I was prepared to fight, but I wouldn't win on my own. The Flock should be far away by now, and all I could think of was Max's #1 leadership rule: The Flock is always first.

Talon POV:

The door was close, but Shrieker and Shred were close too. Within one moment, three things happened: 1) I could see the door out. 2) Max was about to be killed by Siren. 3) Shred was about to attack Fang. I knew what I had to do.

I've always been the imperfect one. I was deformed. I only had one taloned hand, when I really was meant to have two, like Shred. I was named Talon out of the irony. I always have been smaller than Shred too. It was wonder that I wasn't retired when I was younger. I was afraid of Shred, the more perfect version of myself. In that moment I cast my fears aside.

"Kaede, bring them to the door!" I yelled. "Hurry!"

Kaede just nodded and led away the younger kids. In a split second, I jumped onto to Shred, knocking him away from Fang. We began to rip each other apart.

Max Pov:

"Get off of her!" I heard Fang yell.

Fang jumped into the fray, pushing Shrieker off me. Shrieker didn't even react to Fang, and just kept attacking me. I got up, and lunged at her, yanking out some of her hair. She shrieked, and my head was full of pain. She grabbed me by the throat, and tried to choke me. My airways closed, but then I saw Fang standing behind Shrieker, with a crowbar. He swung and hit Shrieker on the head. She dropped, and I gasped for air.

We ran ahead to catch up with the Flock. There was a huge door, which was barely open. Total was in the process of squeezing through the crack.

"Since we propped it open the door closed more." said Nudge. "It's crumbling up the boulder. Total can barely get through. He's too fat."

"I am not!" squealed Total. Kaede had been looking around frantically, and now approached me.

"Where is Talon? Didn't he stay behind to help you?" she asked, afraid. I wasn't aware of any of this, but Fang did.

"I was going to be attacked by Shred." Fang said quietly. "Talon sort of…attacked him first." Kaede gave a horrified gasp.

"We have to get him! We can't leave without him!" she screamed. Kaede then ran over and yanked Total out of the doorway. "We can't leave yet!"

"I'll go back for him." Fang said. "You all wait here. If I'm not back in five minutes, leave without me."

"NO!" I protested. But Fang was already around the corner. I chased after him, grabbing his wrist.

"You will not! Talon can take care of himself! The important thing is to keep The Flock together!" I said. Fang had stopped running, and we stood there staring at each other. He then held my face in his hands, and kissed me on the forehead.

"Five minutes," said Fang. He tried to leave again, but I was still holding onto his wrist firmly.

"Oh no, you're can't leave like that." I said, gritting my teeth.

"You're right, I can't. I'm not nearly finished here."

And he was kissing me again. This wasn't what I had in mind, but it made me let go of his wrist. Which of course was what he was aiming for all along. The moment I let go, he scrammed. I became enraged, more enraged than Siren was.

"LOOK WHO"S RUNNING AWAY NOW! IF YOU DIE I WILL BE SO ANGRY!"

Of course, he didn't come back. All I could do was wait.

Talon Pov:

I was in so much pain, I knew the odds were against me. I inflicted my own share of injuries to Shred. He might have more talons than me, but they are just as sharp. _Attack the wings_ I thought to myself. _He can't fly after The Flock if his wing is hurt. _

So I went for his wing membrane. Every tear I made caused a great deal of pain to Shred, which was satisfying for me. He would never catch up to the Flock now. Shred just wanted to kill me, but he was sloppy in doing so. I was bleeding all of my arms, legs, and abdomen. I was losing strength.

Shred was laughing as he beat me into the ground. He had decided to pound out what life was left in me, instead of ripping me to shreds. He kicked me again, and I clutched my side. My eyes could barely stay open. Then someone was behind Shred. Shred spun around, and the figure lifted something in the air.

"Lights out." said Fang, and he swung the object at Shred. Shred dropped, knocked out cold.

Fang Pov:

"Lights out." I said, and then I struck Shred's head.

No bat mutant stands a chance against the sneak-attack-crowbar strategy. Sometimes I feel like a true genius. Oh god, Iggy must be rubbing off on me.

Talon was a mess. His white skin was stained with blood, and he had gashes everywhere. He was sprawled on the ground, coughing blood. Uh oh, not a good sign. I got one of his arms around my shoulder, and got him up on his legs.

"Just leave me here." Talon whimpered.

He erupted into more coughs, spitting blood all over me. I wasn't going to let him be all self-sacrificing. I just left Max hanging there mid-kiss to save this guy, and there was no way I would walk back there empty-handed. I began to drag Talon towards the doorway.


	16. Why then, oh Why Can't I?

_A/N: Why I like this chapter: the Flock does something embarrassing_

_Why I don't like it: This isn't a maximum rideish thing to happen._

_Not last chapter, two more coming. Well, one more. The last one is an epilogue and Author's Note. _

_My reviewers are awesome. I've been too lazy to list them, but now I shall_

_Give up Your Prejudices, Laura.S-x, Delilah's Garnet, Viola-con-Amore, Ina Beana, wishIhadwings, Sparrow Logan, girlwithwings2, BlackWingsRainbowTips, If I had wings…, SignedSealedWritten, iridescentxroses, curezen, Ur.Fav.Girl.Is.Here, MellaIsi, krissy-fishy, Jashmyn, you all are awesome people. _

_And Microsoft Words hates nearly all of your names. Dammit Word, they are not spelled wrong. _

**Disclaimer: I **_am_**James PAtterson, and I** _totally own_ **the flock and/or itex. The previous sentence was all lies. Also, I am not Judy Garland, and don't own the song Over the Rainbow. The previous sentence was completely true.**

Chapter 16

Why then, oh why can't I?

Kaede was not cooperating. Five minutes had passed, and even though I hated to leave Fang--no hated isn't a good enough word…the whole thing was tearing me apart--I had the rest of the Flock to think of. Kaede fought as fiercely as Siren/Shrieker, only she was careful to not hurt anyone.

Total was squeezing outside when Fang and Talon lumbered up. Talon was pretty beat up. The kid was broken. I wasn't even sure if he'd live at all, even if we got him out.

Speaking of getting out, Total had gotten through. Nudge had him memorize a code. There were a lot of creaking noises, like that of something being unlocked and the doors slid open. Screeches echoed down the hall. _Uh oh. _

We all scrambled through the door, and into the sunlight. Kaede gasped, and covered her eyes. Nudge and Angel skipped around, happy to be outside again. Iggy took a breath of fresh air, than covered his nose when Gazzy stood next to him. Fang dragged Talon out, and the doors closed behind him, sealing Shrieker, Shred, and all the Screechers in forever.

The only thing that worried me now was Talon. Boy that kid was bleeding. Talon was put down in the shade of the trees, where Kaede could open her eyes.

"Talon, we're free. We got out." Kaede whispered. Talon opened his eyes, wheezing. I felt a lump form in my throat. Talon saved me from death, but I couldn't save him. Talon dragged his arms along the ground, feeling the grass.

"It's…really…bright…out here." Talon softly said. I looked away. I couldn't watch this happen. It was like watching Ari expire all over again. Kaede held his head in her lap, biting her lip. Her almond eyes were brimming with tears.

**Tell Kaede to sing something. **the Voice told me.

_Hello Voice. Long time no see, not that I see you, I don't even know who you are…_

**It's good that you didn't die. **The Voice said. **I tried to pass my transmission to Fang, only it didn't take. He didn't like me much anyway.**

_Imagine that._

**This is serious Maximum. I have reports and analyses of Kaede and Talon, and Talon might be saved…**

_Reports? Analyses? Where do you come up with this stuff? Oh wait, let me guess, you can't tell me. Do you have reports and analyses of The Flock too? Can I say stalker?_

**Just listen to me. How I gain my information is not a concern. Siren and Kaede's voice stimulates the body, depending on how it sounds. Screaming causes pain. Laughter makes you happy. Singing can heal, maybe even resurrect.**

"Kaede, you're a good singer right?" I asked quietly. "Maybe you should sing something for Talon…like a good-bye thing…"

Fang looked at me quizzically, and Kaede looked at her dying brother. She sniffed, watching Talon steadily wheeze.

"But I don't know any songs…" she muttered. "I only know scales. I guess I could do that…"

**It must be a song.**

"It must be a song." I said. Kaede looked at me, in fact the whole Flock was looking confused. "I'll explain later, but Kaede needs to sing a real song."

The Flock looked to each other. Kaede didn't know any songs. What song would she sing anyway? I looked at Angel. _Sing something inside Kaede's head. _I thought to her.

_I don't want to sing by myself. _Angel replied. No one in the Flock looked like they would sing. I wouldn't. Me, singing? Please. I was frantically looking at everyone. I heard something low come from Iggy.

"Somewhere…over the…rainbow..." Iggy muttered. As painful as it was, we all joined in. Well not Fang. I smacked him, and he began to nervously drawl, almost too low to hear.

_You better be relaying the words to Kaede Angel, because there's no way I'm singing the entire thing._

"There's a land that I've heard of, once in a lullaby." we all sang. Or more like droned. Every word hurt. Since when did I know the lyrics to this song? Kaede just sat there listening. We were done with the second verse when Kaede started singing.

"Some day I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me  
Where troubles melt like lemondrops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me"

I stopped singing, not only because I couldn't stand the embarrassment anymore, but because my voice sort of dried up. No one was singing but Kaede. She was amazing. I've only ever seen one episode of American Idol, but she was better than them. Then again I saw the auditions, but the point still remains…

I heard Nudge gasp. She was pointing at Talon's body. The blood was running back into his body. Even the dried bits were...they were liquefying into normal blood and soaking back into his body. His skin began to knit together, not leaving behind a scar or anything.

"Somewhere over the rainbow  
Bluebirds fly  
Birds fly over the rainbow  
Why then, oh why can't I?"

The song was nearly finished, and I felt happy all of the sudden. Why? No clue.

"Why, oh why can't I?" Kaede sang, finishing up the song. Talon was a good as new. Talon was better than new. Kaede had a handy talent right there. Talon sat up, and held his head. Kaede squealed and hugged him.

"Am I dead?" Talon asked, unsteadily. Kaede shook her head gleefully. She stood up, and walked over to Angel.

"Thank you so much for helping me!" she said, and gave Angel two kisses, one on each cheek. Kaede then went down the line, explaining how each of us actually helped before giving two kisses and a hug. When it was Fang's turn, he just stood there, not reacting. Iggy got really red when it was his turn.

Kaede and Talon immediately started to ask questions. They were pointing to things, asking what it was, why it looked that way, can they touch it. The Flock was eager to answer them. I walked away, go somewhere else to think. I didn't think about what they would do when they were free. Kaede and Talon didn't know anything. I looked over at Kaede. She had caught a bee…I heard a small shriek. They had so much to learn.

Fang joined me. We stood away from the Flock, watching them try to show everything to the twins.

"What are we going to do about them?" I asked

_A/N: YEa, Id love reviews. I know, this chapter isnt the best, but i've sorta planned this power ability thing for Kaede all along, I just never got around to incorporating it into the story. Don't Judge._


	17. Wait a sec

_A/N: Last real chapter guys! Don't worry, a sequel is on it's way. I love the reviews. Slut is said in this chapter. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Flock. I do own Kaede, Talon, Siren, Shred, and School 4. Take that JP. Also, I do not own Kansas or North Carolina. I also do not have anything against those particulur states. I hope no one is offended.**

Chapter 17

Wait a sec…

. "They haven't got anyone, and they know nothing about the world…" I said, thinking about Kaede and Talon. Kaede had just discovered bees, and learned not to pet them.

"They could join the Flock." Fang suggested. "They aren't safe with anyone else. Who else will take in two flying mutants other than us?"

I put my head on his shoulder, thinking. I knew the answers to his questions. No one would take them in, well not without taking advantage of them. I was still contemplating the issue when Fang's arm went around my waist. Wait a sec...

"I'm angry with you." I said.

"Umm why is that?" Fang asked.

"You disobeyed me in there. I told you not to go after Talon, but you..."

"That's not why you're angry. You're angry because I used kissing to distract you. Not only that, but I left things unfinished."

"So are you going to finish them?"

Fang indeed did finish things. In fact, things finished way better than they started. He firmly pressed our lips together, holding me against one of the few trees in Kansas. Our bodies were molded together, and I was running my hands through his thick dark hair. Wait a sec…

"You are doing it again Fang." I said, narrowing my eyes at him. His dark eyes showed a lot of amusement. No way would I let him get away with that.

"You can't charm your way out of all your problems." I said.

"Oh, but I thought you loooooooovvvvvveeed me? Remember?" Fang said teasingly. Damn Valium.

"Well, what if I did loooooovvvvveeeee you? What then?" I shot back.

"Well then, I would say that I looooooovvveedddddd you too."

"Oh please." I said skeptically. "Like you, Mr. Emotionless, even know what love is."

Fang turned me to look into his eyes. Unsurprisingly, I didn't recognize any feeling. That was what made me sad. In the School, Fang dealt with the pain by shutting himself away. I've been hoping that he's breaking free of that habit.

"Max, you think I don't know what it is?" he said, sounding a bit angry. "When I found that date on your neck, I was hoping that my date would appear on my neck too. Just so I wouldn't have to be alive in a world without you in it."

By the time he stopped talking, he was the absolute opposite of emotionless. I didn't even know what it was. I've never seen it before on him. Fang had completely lost his composure. Wait a sec…was this really Fang? Maybe I'm still in my coma…

"Do you understand me Max?" Fang asked, putting his hand on my cheek. "It was even worse when we were saving your life. For about a minute, I thought you were really dead. Do you have any idea how horrible it was?"

"Actually, I feel like that everyday." I said, getting irritated. "I'm always looking out for the Flock, and there have been so many times when I thought we would all die. Even you, when we had to take you to the hospital. Sometimes I can't stand it. And you want to know why? It's because everyone in the Flock is so important to me, and I don't care about what you have to say, I love you!"

"Are you angry?" Fang asked. He was amused again.

"YES! I HATE YOU!"

"So if I said I loved you too, this would be a bad time?" Fang asked, cocking his head to one side.

"YES! NOW WOULD BE A—wait a sec, what?" Did Fang just say what I thought he did? What I wouldn't give for Angel's mind powers right now.

"I was sorta leading up to it, but…I love you Max. I'm turning into Mr. Emotionless again, so…" Fang trailed off.

I kissed him before Mr. Emotionless came back. Good thing to. These kisses were tons better than normal Fang. One of his hands held my head, and the other rested on my hips. I was holding him against the tree now. I felt around his lean muscular body, and he kissed my neck. I kissed him hungrily, relishing every single moment of it. _If only Siren could see me now. Ha ha…slut_

About ten minutes later, I came back to reality. We broke free of each other and headed back to the Flock. Talon was staring at the sky, and Kaede was dancing around with Nudge, Angel and Gazzy, giggling. Kaede had flowers strewn in her hair. Iggy shyly brought her another one, and she gleefully accepted it, and danced around.

As happy and joyful this scene was, there still was a huge metal door that leads into a hellhole right there. I approached my prancing flock.

"Ok guys, in my opinion we've been here way too long. Everyone, U and A!" I called. The Flock leapt into the air, flying into the sky. Now it was only me and the twins who were still there. Any happiness the twins had vanished.

"What are we going to do?" Talon asked quietly. "Where will we go?"

"I believe my exact words were '_Everyone_, U and A.'" I said, smirking at them. The two just looked at me for a moment, and then Talon got it.

"So are we…you mean…The Flock?" he asked.

"We can travel with the Flock?" Kaede said excited.

"More like join the Flock." I said. "Are you coming or not?"

They both smiled and leapt into the air, flying after the Flock. I followed, catching up and passing them easily. As I became the head of the V formation, I looked back at my new Flock. We were a pack of mutant bird kids—plus two mutant bat kids. I was already thinking of our next destination.

Screw North Carolina, I've had enough of the country. I knew exactly where we were headed. Kaede and Talon need to make up for 14 years of lost time, and they need to learn about the world. The place to be completely assimilated into normal human culture would be good ol' NYC. Kaede reaction to the bee was outrageous, and I could only think of what she would think of cars and skyscrapers.

Kaede and Talon already looked like they were having the times of their lives, and this was just flying over boring Kansas.

**Maximum, as useful as Kaede and Talon will be, don't let them be in the Flock for too long. **the Voice advised. **They are a hindrance. They could keep you from your destiny.**

_I won't leave them alone and clueless. _I replied. _I've promised myself long ago not to leave people behind when I could help. They've been trapped and caged their whole lives, more so then we were. _

_Kaede and Talon are one of us now. There's nothing that will change that. _


	18. EpilogueAuthor's note

Epilogue/Author's note

Epilogue/Author's note

The metal trap door vibrated in the grass. This door had been untouched, and unopened for years, but now something was breaking through, pounding and scratching underneath. A clawed hand burst out of the metal, and ripped apart a gaping hole.

Siren squeezed through the tiny space, breathing her first breath of fresh air. Shred looked out from underground.

"You must find the code." Shred ordered. "None of the rest of use can get out. We need the large doors open."

"I shall not fail you brother!" Siren declared. Screechers from inside School 4 all screamed in reply. Siren grinned.

The Colony would be free. They had been hibernating, waiting for the moment someone came down into the depths of School 4. All she had to do was find someone from either Itex or the flock of winged children, both have the code.

No matter how she got the code, Siren planned on visiting the Flock. The Max Girl would die. Siren would see to it. Siren jumped into the night sky, and flew off. She immediately picked up on Kaede and Talon's scent.

_I shall find you. You cannot hide from me. Nothing and no one will get in my way._

**HEyyyy everyone.**

**Writing this was so much fun. I plan on making a sequel. Would I leave you hanging after what I just wrote above? I think not.**

**As for how to pronounce Kaede…I've meant it to be pronounced like Kay-d, but that isn't really the correct way. The real way is Kah-eh-deh. I shall continue to use it my way, but you readers may say it whichever you want. Kaede is Japanese for "maple", and that might come up later in the sequel… **

**Talon, as said in chapter 15, is named out of the irony that he doesn't have as many talons as Shred does, his original (remember, Kaede and Talon are clones.) Thought I might as well explain that while I was explaining Kaede's name. **

**They both need human names, like how Fang is Nick, etc. Suggestions Appreciated!**

**Awesome reviews everyone! I was worried about chapter 16 being so sappy, but no one flamed me. If you want to flame me, I encourage you. If you have suggestions for the sequel, I'd love to hear them. **


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